Revelations Rewritten
by harrylee94
Summary: When John turns up at the Sanctuary's door, he doesn't just bring a piece of evidence. How does this 'gift' effect the lives of those in the Sanctuary network? Only based on the Revelations episodes at the end of the first Season of Sanctuary.
1. Chapter 1

As the Big Guy walked towards the doors, he couldn't help but wonder what more trouble could be stirred up by their new visitor. They already had enough to deal with as it was; the abnormal population on the Yukon/Alaska border attacking human populations for no apparent reason.

Once he'd opened it he drew back his lips in a growl. There was no way the situation could have gotten worse, and yet the man stood before him proved that theory wrong. The figure that stood there smiled in his usual cynical way.

"Not often I use a front door. Quite the novelty." The man said, his voice thick with his upper class English accent, examining the wooden frame.

"You're not welcome here Druitt," he didn't move from the entrance. "You know that."

"I bring critical information my hair suit friend. About the troubles in the North," he held up a black bag but Big Guy's eyes never left the murderer's face, "and a present, if you can call it that." At this, he stepped to the side to reveal an unconscious and scarily familiar man lying slumped on the path, chest planted on the gravel and a large welt on the side of his head.

"Now, if you don't mind…" the ripper stepped past the abnormal and left him to pick up the unusual gift, travelling quickly to the lower levels.

"Forgive my scepticism John but your history of altruism is just behind a scorpion's." Helen led her ex-lover into the central hub towards a desk, meeting up with the others. "And where's Big Guy?"

"He's taking care of my other package. It should take a while," he replied, dumping his bag on the table.

"Why is he here?" Ashley asked, frowning in anger.

"Please, I am your father." He couldn't help but feel a little hurt by her comment, even though he knew it was completely reasonable.

"Then you should start acting like one and that does not mean kidnapping me when you want to spend some quality time."

"That is part of why I am here." _Along with another equally interesting topic, but I'll save that for later._

Helen tilted her head. What on earth could he have to say? She looked down at the hands he was resting on his bag, the ends of his fingers covered in a thin layer of ice.

"I'm guessing it's not about visitation rights," stated Will, keeping his distance from the man.

"You have frost bite." Helen watched as her ex-husband pulled his fingers away, busying them with the bag.

"Certainly no reflection of your hospitality," John said sarcastically as the corner of her mouth rose a fraction,beginning to unzip the bag, _I'd hoped she wouldn't notice_, "Perhaps you can guess where I've been."

"The Yukon."

John made a sound of approval, unsurprised by the quickness of her answer, "I saw the carnage first hand. Traced the epidemic… to its origins."

Everyone began to look at the bag, the tension building as the once murderer slowed his progress for effect.

"Mount Logan." Yet again, Magnus was bang on the money, and looked at the box that John had just pulled out from its fabric casing. The team took a step back.

It was a plastic walled box with hazard signs on each side. Inside was a selection of what looked like black crystals and metal shards to the untrained eye held in yet another secured container.

"Not to worry, it's all been sealed in proper BS3 protocols etcetera etcetera." He hated those damn rules. It was so much easier in the old days, where health and safety was put second next to the expansion of their knowledge.

"There's no way that epidemiology was one of your specialties"

"Well, that's why I've come to you." He put the box back on the table as they began to come closer, curiosity getting the best of them, as he knew it would. "I found these fragments at ground zero. I believe you, Mr Foss," he turned to face the technology buff, sliding the box towards him, "will find these of particular interest."

Henry studied it for a moment, leaning on the table, then turned to Helen. "These look like fragments from a dispersal mechanism."

She stared at Druitt, his smug look beginning to make her angry. "Henry, prepare a level three residential cell for introduction of a possible bio-hazard."

"Now, it's better than some things I've been called."

"What's the point?" Henry asked, ignoring their unwelcome guest, "He's just going to teleport out of there anyway."

"I give you my assurances I will not."

"Let me back up those assurances with an EM shield. You teleport, you die." Magnus' coldness froze the already frosty atmosphere. _How could she say such a thing? I was her fiancée once._

"Are we supposed to believe that you came here to fight the outbreak?" his daughter asked, still not convinced he was a 'good guy'.

"The war has begun. Humans verses abnormals, and I will not stand idly by while the Cabal imposes its chaos."

While all the tests and so forth were occurring, Big Guy was in one of the spare rooms, trying to make the strange yet familiar man comfortable.

He had removed his shoes and rather large jacket (which he was surprised to find stocked full with gun, daggers, ammunition and a rather hefty looking sword) and had put them in the wardrobe, including the strange miscellaneous. The man in question was lying in the room's double bed and still hadn't come to, though the lump had become a deep purple welt that he was careful not to touch.

He wondered who the man was and where Druitt had found him, but before he could delve any deeper into his thoughts they were disturbed by a beeping noise from his pocket.

He took out his planner and saw the message "FRONT DOOR" covering the screen in bold blue letters. With that, the ape-like man went down to the hall, quite sure that his new guest wouldn't wake up any time soon.

A currier was waiting outside with an envelope in her hand. When she looked at him her eyes widened slightly, but she didn't budge. She'd heard the stories about this place. "Telegram for a Dr. Helen Magnus?"

"I'll take it for her." Big Guy paid her and closed the door before she could look at him properly, heading towards her office. He passed Henry on the way who appeared to be deep in thought, so he decided not to disturb him. More than likely he was working out some form of new communication or the like.

"… experiment on humans as well as abnormals," finished Will as he entered the room. He was leaning against the computer desk. He hated it when people did that. It meant that the legs would become unstable and make the table lopsided. No one liked a lopsided table.

"Telegram." He held out the message, which Helen took, nodding to him in gratitude.

"Telegram? What is this 1890?" Will obviously wasn't used to dealing with old friends, though he didn't blame him. He'd only been there for about six months.

"Our Dr. Watson tends only to trust more established forms of communication," Helen replied, pulling the message from the envelope.

"Doctor Watson?" He looked between Ashley and her mother, "Not as in James Watson who's a member of the five."

"Yeah, and head of the UK Sanctuary." Ashley chipped in, as if everyone knew.

Big Guy considered mentioning the man he had in the room upstairs, finally realising why he looked so recognizable but decided it was best to wait until the problems with the other situation had died down a bit.

""Helen."" She said, looking down at the note, ""A matter of the utmost urgency. Will be arriving at the Sanctuary tomorrow. Will be bringing everything we need to get to the bottom of this new menace. Your trusted colleague, J W"."


	2. Chapter 2

The next day, Helen walked towards the door after the three distinctive knocks from the doorknocker, knowing exactly whom it was calling on her, her heels echoing in the room's near empty state. Once it was open, she smiled.

"James, so good to see you." She walked out to the bearded man, making sure she didn't crush any of the wires or tubes of his life machine strapped to his chest and wrapped around his body as she put her hands on his arms, giving and receiving a kiss on each cheek. The leg braces, however, were a bit easier to avoid.

Even though it was hard to work around sometimes, it was necessary for him to live so long. He was, now that Helen though about it, older than she was, though not by much, and the only reason he was alive was because of the exoskeleton he'd created near to one hundred and thirty years before.

"You haven't changed a bit," he said, walking inside, his eyes taking in the changes since his last minute, though there weren't many.

"Since last fall in London?" She remembered Victoria square, the red leaves of the trees surrounding them, the cool breeze and the light rainfall that came with it. It was abnormal British weather, being so dry, but she had loved it all the same.

"No as in spring of 1886." When they were injected with the blood.

Helen smiled inwardly, "Coming from such a keen observer I'll take that as a compliment." She put her hand around his upper arm and began to lead him down the corridor.

"Now, I'll need help. I have a driver and a truck at the loading dock, I brought some things."

"Things?" _What exactly did he bring with him?_

"Of course Helen. You didn't expect me to arrive without a gift did you?"

Their walk to the central hub was mostly uneventful, apart from a few laughs from memories revisited; the second world war, America in the fifties… so they found themselves in the company of the team (bar the Big Guy) sooner than expected. She momentarily wondered where he was but remembered the tasks he had left to do.

"Doctor James Watson, Ashley and Henry you know of course…"

"Hey!" Ashley exclaimed, wrapping her arms around the man's neck, forcing him to put his bag on the floor. He was more of an uncle than anyone she'd ever known, and she always missed him when he wasn't there.

"Lovely to see you again my dear." He escaped the hug and held his hand out to the technology buff, "And Henry, the new server's working perfectly."

"Aw thanks doc, I try." He tried not to blush from the compliment.

"And my new colleague, doctor Will Zimmerman."

Will shook the man's hand tentatively, a little confused at the man's appearance. "Hello."

"The protégé. Yes, I've heard quite a bit about you." James said, looking the man up and down.

"All good I hope."

"Some." He watched as the young man looked at him. "A profiler, right?"

"Yes. Doctor Magnus told you?"

Helen smiled. She knew where this was going.

"Actually I was watching you look at me."

Will looked away for a moment. "Really?"

"A profiler looks, listens, gauges, senses, calculates, compares; am I really a doctor? Am I really who I say I am? The tells, give aways, twitch of an eye, the odd unna-tural pause…"

"You have dirt under a single finger nail," he pointed out. "Did you scratch at something?"

Watson frowned and looked at his nail as if he hadn't noticed it. _This kid was good. _"Did I?"

"I think so." Will didn't notice the exchange of looks from the two women. "Something green, verdigris." He looked up in triumph, "Oxidised bronze."

"Hmm…the doorknocker."

"To test its age."

_Very good._ He turned to his host. "Reproductions of Rampodine would have been so disappointing."

Helen nodded toyingly. Of course he expected only the best, and she was more than ready for this.

"And from that you got profiler?"

"More your instant threat assessment. Was that a bomb strapped to his chest? Is the accent authentic? Is he casing the room? That's a profiler."

Will's eyebrows rose, "Wow. I'm impressed."

"Yes, of course you are."

He and Ashley laughed, "And people tell _me_ I sound like Sherlock Holmes."

Helen grinned to herself as James looked off to the side, trying not to be too obvious and failing badly. "Actually Will, that's exactly who he is."

It was while Helen and James were removing their protective suits from the autopsy they had just performed that the Big Guy finally decided to tell them about John's little party teaser. They were almost completely packed away when he came in.

"Hello, I haven't seen you all day." Magnus said, smiling at him, causing her friend to turn to see who it was. His face brightened dramatically as soon as he did.

"Ah! It's good to see you again my fine fellow!" he exclaimed, though he was unable to shake hands as his were full with a biohazard suit.

"Likewise." He paused, trying to figure out how he was going to explain this to them.

The man finished clearing his hands and turned back, frowning lightly, "What is it?"

_How does he always know? _"I need to show you something." He replied, wondering if it was the best way, but exited the room before he could change his mind.

Once they had finished packing everything away, they joined him and began to walk down the corridor.

"I don't suppose you're likely to tell us what it is before we get to our destination are you?" James asked, the pistons in his leg braces creaking as he moved.

"You won't believe me." He remembered when the man had first woken, how he'd panicked and he had to hold him down to make sure he would actually listen. Luckily, he had calmed down considerably after he'd heard the explanation and agreed to stay in the room, but it had been locked just in case. "All I know is that Druitt brought him here."

"Him?"

They arrived at the room about five minutes later, the only sound was a steady thud against the door. After about five, there was a scraping noise before it started again. Seems he'd found his knives.

"Adam…" Big Guy proceeded to unlock the door, the door no longer shuddering from the small impact. "…you've got visitors."

"Who'd want to visit me?" came a very British sounding voice from the other side, "Unless they want to kidnap me of course…"

As the door swung open, there were several gasps. There, next to the bed, stood a younger version of doctor James Watson.


	3. Chapter 3

"But that's impossible," James stated nervously, staring at his near identical twin, "How…?"

"I don't know, but I'm doing a blood test on both of you to see if your genetic coding is the same or similar," said Helen, looking at her samples through a microscope. "What did you say your name was again?"

"Adam. Adam Pierson," the young Sherlock stuck his hands into the pockets of his trench coat and began to look around the room, tapping one of the containers labelled 'firefly larvae', "I'm a self-defence teacher." He stood back to examine the full array of specimens, "All you're missing is 'eye of newt'." He smiled.

Watson groaned, "Does he have to be here?"

"Would you prefer it if he went wandering aimlessly through the Sanctuary?"

He mentally kicked himself. He knew that was something that had to be avoided, even if it meant putting up with the young man.

They sat in silence for a moment, Watson looking into the second microscope at the samples he'd taken from the abnormal, trying his best to ignore the new mystery that had unveiled itself, though he found it harder the more he tried.

"How's the serum _transaminaze_ going?" Magnus asked her old friend.

"Inconclusive levels," he replied, glad for the distraction, finding his eyes were continuously travelling to his wandering twin, "In fact the behavioural changes the first clinical presentation make this diagnosis very prickly."

"Well John was unaffected despite being exposed at ground zero. Which suggests that the special qualities of the five might well provide an immunity factor. Until the tests come back I'll be looking at my own blood as a way to combat the disease."  
>"I'll tell you what the tests will show, or would you rather be surprised?"<p>

"A man-made pathogen."

Adam looked extremely bored, picking up a vial containing a blue liquid.

"Psychosis inducing agent that affects only abnormals has to be by design." There was no chance that man was going to survive there if he continued his pointless investigations.

Helen paused, wondering if it were right for her to mention their other guest, "John believes the Cabal are behind it."

"Hm, well John draws his insights from an affinity with evil. I have great faith in his analysis."

She couldn't tell if he was being sarcastic or not. "I have released him from isolation."

"Now if only you could release yourself." He said, raising his eyebrows.

She frowned. "I'm sorry?"

There was a smash from where Adam was stood as he dropped a thankfully empty beaker. "Oops…"

They decided to ignore the distraction as he began to pick up the larger pieces and put them on one of the tables, leaving the smaller shards for later. This man was hopeless.

"Our contacts are too seldom, too brief." He began to look back at the microscope, "Considering I'm the leader of your largest satellite operation." The last part was almost like an afterthought. He really did miss her. The best years of his life were when the five were together (apart from when John had turned out to be Jack the ripper).

"It's out of respect for your autonomy as much as anything else."

He saw Adam roll is eyes.

"Most people go back to their oldest contacts for solace Helen, you defy that, conjecture within you always have."

"Well, we're together now, aren't we?" She got up, smiling at him, and made her way around her friend in order to get to the fridge.

"If only the circumstances were more agreeable." James watched her for a moment, then returned to his work.

When Will entered Magnus' office, he was surprised to find not one but two Watsons with John, both seeming to keep their distance from him. The one that was definitely younger looking than the one he'd met earlier was sitting very casually on one of the chairs, almost lying down, his coat over the back, though his face was clean, unlike Helen's friend. The other was setting up a strange looking machine, but he focused on his first point of interest.

"Who are you?"

They all looked up at him and the young Watson stood up and held out his hand. "Adam Pierson." He smiled, "Don't ask why I'm here because I don't know."

Will took the offered hand. "Doctor Will Zimmerman."

"Pleasure." Adam returned to his seat and his examination of the real Watson's machine. There were tubes and wires leading everywhere, and there was a rotating spool in the centre that made certain metal pieces trigger other parts and so on. Overall, it looked very complicated; something Will believed he'd probably never be able to understand.

He went around the group and opened the cupboard, picking up some glasses and placing them on the table, returning for a container of brandy. He then began to walk around the group, offering it to each of them. "So what is that?"

"A necessary component for my survival." James finished attaching a wire to the mechanism on his leg, "Not much we can do until the results come in in the morning." Will filled his and John's glasses. "Not that I think Helen will sleep very much. Tell me young man, what is it like to work for a woman?"

Adam smiled. He knew where this was going.

"A woman like doctor Magnus? It's a privilege," Will replied, unable to answer the question in any other way. How was he supposed to know what it was like when they were seen as near second-class citizens?

"What Watson means is what's it like for someone who hasn't been dragged by his scruff into the twenty first century. And the century before that." John explained, picking up his glass.

"You know I'm still not used to the whole 'I've lived for a century' thing. You'll have to tell me how you did it some time," Adam picked up his now full glass, looking at the protégé, "Thank you."

"Most men's failures haunt them for a lifetime, mine have haunted me for two." He adjusted the straps on his arm. _How has he coped all these years?_

"What failure?" Will frowned, putting down the container after filling his own glass.

"Oh, the Ripper case." He looked at his old friend and rival. "Confounded me like no other."

"You came close James, you don't know how close." He sipped the amber liquid, taking in the taste.

"Night after night I poured my insides out to you never knowing that the target of my manhunt was the man…who dissected by said positions."

"I was in the grip of something I couldn't control, I think you know that."

"The fact remains you gave the lie to all my bravado. You shattered my belief that I could see beyond what a mere mortal could."

"Little of sensitivity here we're in the presence of some 'mere mortals'."

"Young Will here has the makings of a decent detective." He raised his glass, "Perhaps he could have seen what I could not."

"Oh, and I'm not good enough for you?" Pierson asked, making an innocent look.

Watson turned to face him, "I don't know you…"

"Well you don't know Will here either." Adam tilted his head, "From what the Big Guy's told me you've known him for less than a day!"

"He has a point old man," John took another sip of his brandy, "how can you be so sure of yourself?"

Will noticed Adam sharpen his eyes at the man, obviously not wanting him to butt in, but remained silent. There was obviously something he was missing.

"You can learn a lot from someone in a few hours."

"Oh. Like your time spent with me while you were working on your so-called case? How is it that you find it a failure if you have the culprit in your sight?"

"Well your life devoted to justice, sir, it's a constant burrow on my backside that you have avoided it."

"Justice is meated out in many ways." 'Jack's' face had taken on a seriousness that seemed ghostly, "Your not the only one haunted."

The two 'mere mortals' began to feel uncomfortable.

"You've got to believe that fate has brought you two together for a reason."

"Yes why are you here Druitt?"

"Oh to save the world as we know it. And, time allowing, to reassert my superiority in our battle of wits." John said, smirking from fond memories.

James allowed a small friendly smile appear on his face, holding out his glass that Druitt promptly tapped with his own, small bursts of laughter shortly forthcoming.

After he'd discovered that the Big Guy had caught whatever it was that was such a threat to the abnormals, 'Adam' decided to keep out of everyone's way since they were all so busy with 'saving the world', and so he returned to his room, removing his shoes and lying on his bed, stretching his arms and legs out. He was about to take a well-deserved nap when he felt a slight tingling in his head and there was a knock at the open door.

"May I come in?"

He turned his head to find his doppelganger standing there. He still found it unnerving, seeing himself as someone older looking than him. It was probably what he would have looked like at that 'age'. He sat up. "Sure, why not."

Watson made his way over to the bed and sat down next to him, legs creaking as he went.

"That's got to be uncomfortable to sleep with," Adam motioned to some of the tubes wrapped around his neck and arms.

"I've had more than enough time to rehabilitate my sleeping methods to it, though I must admit, I still wake with a bit of an ache in my back."

Nodding, Adam turned to him, "So why are you here?"

The old man sighed and crossed his hands. "The tests came back for our blood samples…" He paused.

"And?" Even though he wouldn't admit it, he was as anxious about them as he was.

"And… we appear to have near identical gene structures."

Adam frowned, "But that's…"

"Impossible I know, but it's what the tests have shown. From these results, you could almost say we were, genetically speaking, twins."


	4. Chapter 4

It had been some hours since Adam's meeting with his twin and he was getting restless. So many ideas had crept into his thoughts, and so many more thrown out in disgust. He had to get out of the room.

Planning on getting himself another drink, he made his way to Helen's office, only to find Henry just entering, so he followed.

Inside he found himself facing doctors Magnus, Zimmerman and Watson, along with Helen's daughter Ashley whom he'd had the pleasure of meeting the day before.

"Okay, so I did a full cavity search on the internet for this Anna Griffin. She went by a different name so that slowed me down but then I tracked her to Batten Rouge." Henry paused for a second to let the information sink in. _Who was this Anna Griffin?_ "Three years ago she disappeared off the face of the Earth."

"Could she simply have died?" Helen asked.

"Well if you believe the old bit she did but it didn't pass the sniff test. See the certificate of the death was an outright forgery. Somebody wanted the world to think she kick like a…witness protection or something, so I was lucky to find a few fragments that they missed, found an address. So, somebody better wake up Druitt cause we ain't got no time to take no fast train."

Adam shivered at the recollection of the first time they met. He had been on his way home from Mac's house when he'd run into him for the first time, and when he'd taken a short cut through an alley he had just appeared in a flash of red and whacked him over the head with… something. The next thing he knew he was on a bed in one of the spare rooms of the Sanctuary with an ape-man standing over him. Oh the joys of being a twin…

Helen looked at her technician, confused, "We?"

"Well you can't send Druitt in alone, the guy's all hearts and flowers one day the next he's turning a working girl into a canoe!" _You should have seen some of the things I did!_

"Yes. Despite his good will as of late there are definitely warring sides to his personality." Helen exchanged a knowing look from James, "Will, keep Druitt company."

"What? Why me? I'm supposed to tell Jack the ripper to fetch?"

"Just remember," Watson turned to his favourite, "his sharpest implement is his mind."

With that, Adam left, shaking his head. He needed some air.

The courtyard was a little bigger than he'd first anticipated, but he didn't complain, drawing out a dagger from within the depths of his trench coat, looking around for a suitable target. As soon as he'd spotted one, he spun the weapon so that he was holding the blade and threw it.

It landed in the tree with a satisfying 'thud', a few leaves falling due to how young it was. Perfect.

"Impressive."

He didn't even need to turn around to know who it was, the tingling sensation enough to give it away. "Are you following me?"

James walked up to stand beside him. "No. I just appear to keep running into you." He examined the small knife buried in the trunk of the tree almost twenty meters away. "You've had a lot of practice at that I see."

"Yes." He drew out a second and found another area. _Thud._

The detective frowned at him. "You don't seem to want to give away much."

"No." _Thud._

They stood in silence for a moment before Watson turned his body to face him. "Could I ask your permission of something?"

Adam looked at him out of the corner of his eye, "What for?" _Crack._ One of the branches fell to the ground.

"I read people, and I'm finding you a bit of a puzzle. Would you mind if I…?"

Adam shrugged. "Go ahead." He was going to find out sooner or later. "But only if I go first."

The detective sighed, "I you must."

He turned to face him.

He examined the man for a moment, examining how he stood, his hair style, the way he wore his clothes… before making his judgement. "From the way you speak you must be British, but that was obvious. The way you dress suggests that you don't belong in this time, though from what you've said during your conversations I could have figured that out fairly easily as well." He squinted, "From the design of your exoskeleton it must have been designed by yourself, which means that you must be smart, no… a genius, but you weren't always…

"Considering how old you appear to be tells me that you discovered how to make this machine later than you had hoped. You have a studious look about you, and considering how old you must be you would know… Latin." He nodded to himself, "One of the few languages people learned in… Oxford? Cambridge?… while also studying a science, as it helped with the translation of the biological names." He smiled. "How'd I do?"

He smiled at the stunned look he was receiving. _I didn't even touch on the world wars._

"Oxford. And you did exceedingly well."

Adam nodded. Made sense if you thought about it. "Your turn."

The scientist smiled and began to _look_ at him. "When we first met you were throwing knives at the door, but only in boredom. You've trained to use them at a late stage in life and you practice regularly, but enjoy the sound they make when they hit their target. Perhaps an assassin…" he frowned, "… no… your eyes are too kind, they don't have the coldness of a killer… and yet you have seen death. Perhaps caused a few to lose their lives yourself and you regret it… but not all of them. Black ops maybe, not a self-defence teacher, but that would mean that you'd still be part of them because of your age unless…

"Unless you're older than you look… You have the face of a man who's not passed his thirtieth birthday, and yet from the way you act, the way you speak and assess situations, you remember far more years than your features show," He stopped, squinting slightly as he tried to read more into his puzzle, "You act so childishly because you have secrets so dark that if you don't joke you'd lose your mind, and you stopped half way through your study… You are a kind hearted man, but fearful, and would act for your survival, but only when your loved ones are safe."

Adam smiled. "You're not too bad yourself." He could feel a laugh welling up inside him, but he forced it down.

"It's been a long time since I've met anyone like myself," the scientist grinned, "and now I've got two at once!" he laughed. "So what are you exactly? What do you do?"

Adam tapped his nose, "That would be telling."

The other man smiled at him, "What's your name?"

He froze. "What?"

"When someone calls your name you hesitate, though I must admit it's only for the tiniest of moments. I doubt even Will would have noticed."

He considered lying, but he knew it would be too obvious for him. "Methos. The first name I remember having is Methos."

Watson patted him on the arm. "Well then Methos, your secret's safe with me." He began to walk towards the building, "Oh, and uh… you'd best be coming with us when we leave for Bhalasaar."


	5. Chapter 5

"John will teleport us two at a time to a wooded area just below the rim of the outlook. Make the modest descent to the ridge, and enter the lost city via the Eastern approach." Helen passed the map to Druitt over the table covered in ropes, backpacks and the like who began to examine it with James. She'd been told that James and 'Adam' were brothers so she hadn't taken it nearly as badly as anyone else.

For some reason, James had asked her to bring his 'brother' along, even stating that she owed him for what happened during the seventies (good times, good times…), so she'd been forced to agree, but only if he wasn't any trouble.

"Can't you just teleport us into this…labyrinth…thing?" the young woman asked.

"My powers are formidable I'll allow. But as I haven't seen what's down there…" Druitt paused for effect. _Ever the showman_ Helen thought, "rematerialising inside of a granite boulder would not be a comfortable way to die."

"No. True. Absolutely. Prefer to walk."

"Once inside the subterranean passages we'll each be responsible fro securing our designated keys." Magnus continued, thoughts of grand towers and halls filling her mind, excitement building up inside her ready to burst, like the bubbles of a shaken can of cola.

James shifted uncomfortably. "Does no one else see the madness in all of this?"

"You don't believe I can accomplish Nicola's task." She felt crestfallen, upset that the support of her friend was waning.

"One, he had the powers of ancient vampire, two, he fell asleep in Edison's electric chair at full current, I don't see your skill sets overlapping."

"Not your average Joe then?" Adam asked sarcastically.

"My father always said; no problem has a single solution, there are always alternatives."

"Alright then," Watson looked back down at the map, "in the unlikely event that we find all five keys…?"

"…We'll be led to an inner sanctum, where our keys will be inserted and the vial containing the source, will be released."

"You know it's not the mission Helen. What worries me is that gleam in your eye."

She smiled. "Suck it up Jimmy, we're going to India."

Once John had teleported them all to the area Helen had chosen (he was never going to get used to that), Adam began to follow her, overhearing the small conversation she had with her employee.

"This is my Father's worst nightmare; we would try and receive the source."

"Are you gonna tell him?"

"If we find out where he's holed up and if the time is right, no."

Adam smiled. It's what he would do.

They were almost at the bottom of the hill before any of them spoke again, the air practically buzzing with anticipation.

"We're about to see the ninth wonder of the ancient world and I didn't even bring a camera." Will said jokingly.

"You brought your mind didn't you?" Helen replied.

"Damn, you know I knew I forgot something."

Pierson looked at the young man. _I think I might actually get to like this kid._

The smiles on their faces soon disappeared when they were met with the inevitable sight of the city.

"Dear God. It's all been destroyed."

The entire city, every house, building and road, had been disintegrated into ruins and rubble, almost indistinguishable from the mountainous surroundings. All they could do was stare.

"There has to be a way down there. There has to be a way into the labyrinth…"

"No, it's over." James stated, causing Adam to gaze at him. How could he give up so easily? "No access no source, no source no vaccine, no vaccine no way to stop the Cabal from taking over human evolution."

An hour later, the group found themselves walking towards one of the first outcrops of the city's remains after yet another teleportation session with Mr John Druitt (much to Adam's disgust, though he didn't complain).

"Where's the amazing last city? The temples, the archives?" Clara asked, a hint of sarcasm in her voice, "A decent restroom?"

"It's gone. Destroyed long ago." Helen's voice was filled with sorrow and longing. Adam decided to remain silent, knowing that nothing he would say would help them in any way.

"By the age of this vegetation I'd say… I dunno fifty, sixty years?" Will guessed, looking around him.

"A hundred years, if the growth pattern of this hedera is any indication." Watson corrected, examining one in particular. Why did it not surprise him that he was the teaching type?

"Destroyed how?" asked John.

"Looks like some sort of massive bombing. But it couldn't have been from the air though." Will explained, "There were no planes that could carry that kind that kind of ordinance a hundred years ago."

"Four days of constant bombardment. Hundreds of men, their heaviest weaponry, cannon placements there and…there long and short range." Watson pointed to two outcroppings in the hill, "Likely a combined effort of Russian French and Spanish forces." He removed his bag from his shoulders.

The more he heard from this 'twin' of his, the more he realised how lost this Sanctuary group would be lost without him.

"I thought by that point in history all the vampires were wiped out?" Zimmerman obviously hadn't had his proper history lessons.

"They were. They retreated here to preserve what was left of their culture. They'd been culled to within a hair's breadth of extinction. They weren't a threat to anyone." Helen looked over the ruins. "This was a slaughter."

"Gregory's instructions mentioned a hall of records as a starting point."

"They also mentioned a city. Fully intact." John was definitely annoyed, "For all we know the caverns below have been destroyed as well."

"Sorry John, are you suggesting we just give up?" the mechanical man asked.

"Oh don't bate me I'm not in the mood."

"Perhaps if we were looking for some new-briar lady of the night for you to slaughter, then you'd suddenly perk up and become incredibly helpful!"

"Gentlemen! Enough!" Helen cried as the pair stood nose to nose.

"Good work old boy. Another test of my loyalty."

"Just checking."

A flash of red brought John back to the group and his daughter's mother over to him.

"Anything?" she asked.

"Nothing for miles. No other entrances to the mountain." He replied.

"It'll be dark soon. We should head back and start fresh tomorrow."

"Uh no no no no, you go." Watson waved her off, examining some of the stones.

"Yeah I'm staying too." Will didn't remove his eyes from the map.

"There has to be something, it's just a sense of…"

"…Scale, yeah exactly." He held up the map then pointed. "There."

Helen frowned, "What?"

"Well, I know it's from a distance but the location of the central ziggurat here should be that area, right there." He stood next to James and pointed again, this time a little to the left.

Sherlock's eyes squinted slightly, "Assuming the city was built around it absolutely."

"That would mean that the hall of records is located..."

"…27 meters South East of our current position." James continued, Helen nodding as her boys figured it all out. "This is the main thoroughfare, the, the central meeting hall, the... it's the wall defences! And the hall of records. It took me a while to locate the right markers."

"Wow you… you total got that, you saw everything!"

"Oh very clearly Will, very clearly," he said, pulling his bag back onto his back.

"Well then, lets have at it." John began to make the assent to the area the pair had specified, soon followed by Magnus.

Moments later, everyone was following, Will standing next to his new idol.

"Time. You factored in time. The shifting architectural patterns as the city grew."

"Time is a constant Will. All visual clues have to be measured against multiple parameters, time often being the most telling."

"Like another dimension."

"Yes it's one of many. And once you understand the way they interact, you'll find that very few mysteries will confound you."

"Man that is killer stuff."

"Yes I've always thought so."

Adam shook his head. It was like they were talking about the latest sci-fi movie or something!


	6. Chapter 6

John had been clearing away the rubble and loose rocks around what appeared to be a doorway for the past ten minutes, Will and Methos chipping in where they could, but they didn't seem to be making much progress. To his shame, Watson was forced to wait on the sides, wishing that he had long-levity like Helen so that he could help, feeling too helpless for his own good.

"Are you certain?" Helen asked the young man who had just thrown a large stone out of the way.

"Yeah." Will dropped another rock onto the growing pile, "Should be the main foyer for the Bhalasaam hall of records."

"My father instructions mentioned a passageway or corridor leading to a subterranean caverns below."

"We have no idea… what the original interior of this building looked like," he moved yet another stone, "let alone where an access point may be." Turning back to the wall, he pushed against the remains to loosen it, only to have it fall away, leaving a hole into what appeared to be a tunnel, ancient air escaping its new chimney.

Taking a flash light, Helen stepped forward to inspect it. "Well done."

"I'm seriously geeking out right now." Will said to no one in particular.

"As am I." Watson said, looking at him in an understanding way.

The inside was somewhat like a city in itself, corridors, bridges and stairs leading off in several directions at each crossroad they passed, but the map they had gave them some instructions as to how they were to travel. After a while, they reached the bottom of the first set of stairs.

"Why would the vampires build a cavern beneath a hidden city?" Will asked, shining his light around the dark space, "Seems kind of redundant don't you think?"

Helen turned back to look at him, "Even though they were the conquers, the rulers, the overlords, they advanced civilisation by centuries. Their knowledge, their technology was far more advanced than anyone could have imagined back then."

"So they kept their secrets well hidden." John looked up at their surroundings as James caught up, his steps beginning to falter.

"Well they knew the world would turn against…" Watson put a hand on the bald man's shoulder, beginning to show the trouble he was getting from his machine, "They would have calculated for the possibility that… Bhalasaam might one day be found, and pillaged…"

"…Lest their wealth of knowledge fall into the wrong hands." They all turned to the new face, the spiky hair and sharp canines only meaning one thing. "Miss me?" Tesla asked.

"John…" Helen said, stopping the angered man from doing something stupid. Adam swore silently as he noticed who it was. He hoped the vampire wouldn't recognise him, though was glad that they'd met recently enough for him to think nothing of his appearance.

"I know he's difficult to kill but I'm sure there are ways," the ripper said, his eyes screaming out in bloodlust.

"Is that before or after you retrieve the blood because frankly, good luck with that if I'm dead. You know, you can't do it without me." Nicola explained before stepping towards them, "Nice move, last time we met, Johnny." He clicked his neck, "Took me a while to get over it."

"Not long enough old boy. Care for another helping?"

"What are you doing here Nicola?" Helen asked before the new member had time to answer.

The vampire sighed and touched the lamp hanging over him. It sparked for a moment before it lit up, along with the rest of them moments later, meaning the group could put theirs out. Adam raised his eyebrows. He'd forgotten vampires could do that.

"Isn't it obvious? The Cabal want to turn the world into a war zone, only the ancient blood can stop it yes! I do keep abreast of current events, thank you."

"Yet you refuse to answer any of our communiqué's" Watson complained, leaning against one of the pillars.

"My dear James, you're looking… older. Feeling your age?"

"Ever the gentleman I see."

"And what have we here?" he faced the youngest members, "I'm guessing that one of you must be a blood relative of Nigel Griffin otherwise why would you have been brought along, I hope you're up to the task."

Clara grinned, "Damn straight I am skinny."

"You I like, you…" he pointed at Will "I don't know."

"I'm doctor Zimmerman. I work with doctor Magnus." Will replied, his voice emotionless.

"Protégé. Well, a mission's necessary disposable item."

"Stop this Nicola." Helen stepped forward, "You know what we're facing why not make contact?"

"Firstly, I prefer to work alone. Secondly, I don't trust any of you any more than you trust me. That's why I skipped the orientation part of the tour." _If only I could have done that._

"How did you get down here?" James asked, keeping the focus on him. Adam smiled, thankful he hadn't been noticed yet.

"There's another entrance, far side of the mountain just have to know where to look for it which I do. Now follow me." He turned and began to walk down one of the tunnels, "Magnificent isn't it? All that remains of my ancestors. Their work. Ten thousand years of knowledge and power, hidden from the world."

"You've been coming here for decades haven't you?" Helen asked, making him pause, "This is where you got the idea to revive vampires as a race."

"Your father… He did his job well." He turned, "Despite my best efforts, we can only retrieve the blood as… one. Adam?"

_Oh shit_ "Hey… Tesla." Adam smiled slightly, "Long time no see."

The others frowned, turning to look at him. This was exactly what he didn't want to happen.

"It's been almost five years!" the scientist replied, grinning enthusiastically, "I thought I'd killed you."

"It'll take more than a knife wound to kill me Tesla."

"Ah yes. I shall have to try harder next time…"

"As interesting as this is, we really must be going. Nicola, lives at stake." Helen said, eyeing Adam before turning back to the vampire.

"This way."

James held out his hand. "John…" he gripped his shoulder again, "Thank you."

"What the hell was all that about?" Clara asked, turning to the man she knew as Adam.

"It's complicated. I'll tell you some other time." Quickly, Methos walked towards James and Druitt's disappearing backs. It appeared that the time was closer than he had expected.

"This place goes on forever." Will complained, shining his light down a passageway that was unlit.

"It's a labyrinth." Helen explained, "It's designed to keep valuable secrets from those that would steal them."

Tesla turned to look back at her, "Was that aimed at me?"

"Yes."

The next corridor they passed through opened out into a large room, its roof high above them and a circular plinth lay in the centre up to about waste height. They all made their way over to it slowly and were soon all stood around it.

There was a five pointed star drawn on it, and within each point was a key shape. Around the edges were the roman numbers one through to ten.

"Some sort of numeric code?" Zimmerman was full of questions today apparently, Adam thought.

"My mother's birthday," Helen began to tap the numbers II, I, VIII, III and VI, "my father's favourite password." Once the sequence had been completed, the middle rose to reveal a roll of paper which Magnus unrolled onto the table as the slot slid back down. "It's his handwriting."

"Latin?"

She nodded, "His favourite language."

_Was there anything about the guy she didn't know?_

"It's Caveat addressed to all five of us." Watson pointed to a bit of scribble on the side, "It's a warning that the blood should only be sought by all of us or not at all."

"And only for the most altruistic reasons."

"Well saving civilisation from global chaos and war seems worthy but… he's your father." Tesla grinned mischievously.

Helen ignored the comment. "It's a map of the labyrinth."

"Look at this," Will pointed to some words written on the map itself, "five notations here."

"Yes five tests, each has one of our names beside it." James explained, translating the remaining Latin.

"What kind of tests?" Clara was obviously nervous. Mind you, who wouldn't be in a room full of people who could kill you in an instant inside the bowels of a mountain under a city that wasn't even supposed to exist.

"They're designed specifically for each of our gifts." Tesla explained, "Impenetrable to anyone else."

"My father knew that in order to prevent any one of us from trying to access the blood alone, he had to use the technology the vampires left behind to safe guard their secrets."

Zimmerman looked at the vampire, "And even you couldn't find a way around it."

"I know, nervous yet?"

"And at the end of each test there's a key, once we have the five keys…" Watson began, only to be taken over by Magnus.

"…We can access the vial. My father loved the metaphor of keys, he saw them as symbols for the unlocking of secrets."

"So we can assume that none of these tasks will be… simple and easy?" They all knew this wouldn't be the case, but John had to ask.

"Knowing my father absolutely. May I?" She reached out to turn the map towards her.

"Oh, yes." Watson relinquished the paper, turning his head slightly as it rotated.

"Will, take Clara to Griffin's test, that's… that's here." Will turned to look down another corridor that she had pointed to, "Watson yours and John's markers are closer together." James looked off in the other direction at his route, "When there work as a team. We'll all meet back here with our keys."

"That leaves you and… Nicola, your tests are marked for the same area." Druitt's eyes began to fill with the anger he had previously pushed away.

"I guess your father liked us best as a couple." Tesla stated, making her stare at him.

John looked between the two of them, "Helen if you can wait…"

"I'll be fine."

"Such chivalry." The grin covering Nicola's face was almost begging to be hit.

The ripper turned to face his rival, "If any harm comes to her, accidental or otherwise…"

"I have no reason to do her any harm but you, I'm finding more reasons by the minute."

"Honestly, I'm surrounded by adolescence!"

They all began to turn their separate ways, leaving Adam to look after each of them. "Hey, what about me?"

Helen sighed. "You should stay here. I don't trust you with Tesla and you'd probably distract James. Clara's under enough pressure as it is without _two_ men following her around."

She had a point. He nodded and turned back to the pedestal, watching Will put a hand on Clara's arm before turning to their exit.

* * *

><p><strong>AN I hope to explain Tesla's relationship with Methos in a later installment or in a related story<strong>


	7. Chapter 7

Before long, the once friends entered a small out cove, two large slabs of a dark stones blocking their way forwards, headed with carved messages.

"Now I believe this is our stop." John said, coming to a stop before the one the furthest away.

Looking at the top stones, Watson folded the map away. "Two Latin inscriptions almost identical in meaning." _Gregory always loved Latin._

John dug his fingers under the bottom and heaved, straining to lift it even an inch but failing, "Almost."

""Truth lies"," he pointed to the one on the left, then right as the other man moved towards the other door, "Lies Truth" a... slightly different turn of phrase."

"Both… doors…" yet again he failed to open the door, "apparently with no means of opening them and yet, behind each of these doors lies or keys. Logically."

"Logically." Watson set his bag on the floor, "Both our names were set for these doors which implies that Gregory intended for us to work together."

"So we cannot retrieve one without the other." He turned to face the smaller man.

"Putting the analytical genius and the cold blooded killer in the same place. There must be a reason beyond cruel irony."

"He designed this, he knew us as friends James, not as enemies." John approached his old friend, "It was before our…"

"Yes yes…" he stepped around the human wall, "Doors that won't open. Yet their shape suggest something exists beyond, a chamber perhaps…"

"Which I alone can access but which door do we believe? Perhaps both? Neither?"

The famous detective was silent for a moment, turning to look at the bald man with a serious look on his face, "I don't know but I am convinced of one thing. If we chose wrongly and you teleport behind the wrong door… I'm sure you will find… solid rock."

"Well then. You'd best choose carefully, old… friend."

Meanwhile, in the central room, Methos sat considering his options. He'd been watching doctor James Watson and listening very carefully to what the others had said about him during the past few days.

Watson was a certifiable genius, and he was a vital part of this Sanctuary group, but there was a big problem. The machine that was keeping him alive was breaking. Ever since they had entered the cavern he had been using John as a human walking stick, and the pistons were creaking a lot more than usual. Even if he was careful, it was obvious that he wasn't going to leave the tunnels alive.

Methos had a sneaking suspicion that if it broke, he would probably die of old age. The chemicals keeping him young would be unable to get to their destination, and so he would rapidly age.

He couldn't let that happen, but there was only one thing he could do to stop it, and it went against all the laws of the immortals.

Leaning against the pillar behind him, he decided what he had to do.

"The seventh girl you murdered. April 1888," James said, folding the map up again after re-evaluating some minor details, "they found her body under a bridge near Whopping. Why move her from White chapel? It has tormented me." He began to step towards him, "But why taint your calling card why change the rules? I remember… I asked your opinion at the time over brandy's at the reformer club and you said, "perhaps the old boy's losing his taste for the sport". But were you?"

John turned to face the curious man, "My actions were not of my own. They were… thrust upon me… by an irresistible force. Oh, it must have been quite a blow to your ego when you finally learned the truth…" the last few words were said with a bit of a smirk on his face, though it wasn't as menacing as he'd hoped it would be.

"It was not, just that I failed to see the clues laid out before me. It was that it was you, John. For God's sake! It was you!" He remembered how he'd felt. The grief, the betrayal… the anger.

Watson turned back to face the puzzle, "Veritas laket!" He pointed to the left door, "Truth lies, that's it," he pointed at the right then turned back, "veritas lies truth! Now the subtle, but vital, difference is that this epigram translates as lies buried as in dead where as this, this means lies at rest, a much more benign expression, and thus it follows that we must chose between life…" he motioned to the right, then the left, "and death."

"That's it? That's your unassailable logic?" _surely that can't be it_ he added in his mind.

"Gregory and I shared a passion for Latin, it follows that he would hide the clues… in the subtleties of the language."

"So… either a chamber lies beyond that, or a perfect chance for you to exact your revenge for my past actions." Roughly, he grabbed the folds of James' jacket, forcing him to hold John's arms, "Care to reconsider your choice?"

James said nothing, looking into the eyes that were mere inches away from his own.

They both looked at the door and dematerialised, rematerialising in a small room on the other side of the door with a table holding the key. Watson released his grip that had tightened in the brief fear that he was wrong, allowing Druitt to retrieve his prize.

"The uh, second key is undoubtedly within the second door indeed this key may unlock it outright." Watson looked at his friend, eyes full of realisation, before turning away, "In which case you might leave me here to die."

"Yes." The once murderer replied, as if the thought hadn't crossed his mind, "I might."

"Well why don't you?" The two turned to look at each other.

"Well as I once said. "I have lost the taste for the sport"."

Sadness, thankfulness and relief covered James' face as the tall man put his hand lightly on his shoulder, the grip far more supportive than anything else and he looked into the eyes of his friend.

As they reappeared back in the out cove, the second door slid open, revealing the second key which the mechanical man then retrieved. "Release the first key, the second is frees as well." He held it up and John followed suet.

How could he resist? "Elementary my dear Watson."

"Oh shut up!"

Druitt began to laugh and picked up the bag.

After about ten minutes, the first sign that Methos received that anyone was doing anything was when the ground began to shake. Soon after that, he began to hear voices.

"Move your legs old man!" came the unmistakable voice of his once kidnapper before the he and the near crippled man suddenly appeared before him, shortly followed by a scarcely dressed Will on the other side of the room.

"Clara!" he shouted back down the passage he'd just come from, holding the clothes he had in one arm, "Oh no she was right with me!"

At that, they began to move by themselves, "Relax Will I'm right here." Clara reappeared soon after, adjusting her bra strap, "I asked you not to drop my clothes and look, they're filthy!" she began to pull on her skirt, "Nice job Will."

"Interesting." John stared at them, several images coming to mind, none of which had anything to do with invisibility.

"Well done William." James congratulated, though for what Adam was unsure, but he wasn't paying much attention to that. It was the way that he was slumped against the pillar. He didn't have much time left.

"Thanks" Will replied, pulling his own clothes on.

John looked around the room, "Where's Helen?"

Adam shrugged just as Tesla and Magnus scrambled out of their chamber, out of breath. She looked at Will who gave her a shrug, then held up her key, which everyone else who had one soon did.

"Perfect timing," Adam said, dodging a piece of falling rubble, almost falling over from all the vibrations.

Helen smiled and made her way to the pedestal, "Well then… shall we?"

Adam backed away as the five stood around the table, taking note on how much help Watson needed to get there, and they put their keys into the slots provided. Almost immediately, the ground stopped shaking and a pillar in the wall rotated, revealing a hole where the vial was held.

Everyone walked over there, paying no attention to their dying friend, leaving Adam with enough time to talk to him.

"How long would you say you have left?" he asked.

James looked at him, surprised at the bluntness of the question, but answered, "About a minute. This thing's going to give out soon." He winced, "It wasn't going to last forever."

Methos nodded. "I know how to save you, but I can't explain it now. You'll just have to trust me."

He frowned, but nodded, "Do what you must."

The ancient man set his teeth and drew out a dagger. "I'm sorry."

The blade struck true, right through the heart. It was a clean wound, and would easily be recovered from, but it still made him feel guilty when he heard the sharp intake of breath and saw his widened eyes. He pulled the knife out and he slumped to the floor. He had seconds left.

"Watson!" Will suddenly yelled, running over to the two identical men, though unable to do anything other than stare, shock paralysing his limbs as he saw what was happening. Tesla and the others soon followed, and he knew it wouldn't be long until someone acted.

"I need your hand," he explained, cutting a deep gash into his own, making sure it was too deep to heal instantly.

Weakly, the twin complied and hissed slightly as his own was sliced open.

Quickly, Methos pressed their wounds together, hoping that this would work. Almost five millennia previously, one of his friends had been sickly during their first death, and one of his mentors had done the same thing for her in order to stop her from being the same way for the rest of her long life. It had worked, the immortal's quickening within his blood removing any toxins and making her as strong as she had ever been.

Unfortunately, he had no idea if it would work for this man, as the chemicals were artificial, and they were the only things keeping him alive. He just hoped that he wouldn't have to use it for the rest of his life. The only thing he was certain about was that he was going to come back. Ever since the first time he'd met him, because of the pre-buzz (or tingling sensation) he knew he was a pre-immortal.

Suddenly, Adam felt himself getting weak, his quickening flowing into the barely conscious man who wheezed in pain as he felt it pass through his body, but his features weren't changing. Methos smiled. It was working.

Then there came the sound he'd been waiting for. The last breath.

"How could you?" Adam felt hands trying to pull him away, but he remained firm.

"It was the only way I could save him." Adam explained, knowing that they wouldn't believe him, but remained with the dead man, hand still pressed against his in order to remove every bit of now harmful toxin from his system. "You have to wait."

"Save him? You killed him! Or hadn't you noticed?"

Methos couldn't help but smile, "You have no idea what I've done." He felt himself growing weaker with each passing second, his quickening, though there was still plenty left, was being drained at an alarming rate.

Then, as suddenly as it had begun, it stopped, and he released the man's hand, removing as much of the exoskeleton as he could before he was dragged away.

When John hauled him to his feet, the only pieces left were the tubes on his arms. He just stared at the corpse the others were crowding around. Helen tried to feel for a pulse but found none, tears beginning to flood from her eyes.

Tesla turned to him, his eyes turning black, "I really should have killed you when I had the chance."

Adam smiled faintly, looking over the vampire's shoulder, "I suggest you step back." They looked at him in confusion and hatred, "I don't think he'll like coming back with so many people around him."

Clara was the only one who complied, but it was enough.

Seconds later, Watson's chest heaved in a mighty breath, everyone taking a step back. As he became aware of his surroundings, he frowned, "What…?" he patted down his chest and legs. Finding nothing, he looked at his clone, "What did you do?"

Adam shook John from his arms, the man too shocked to say or do anything to stop him, "I just saved your life."


	8. Chapter 8

Having teleported back to the Sanctuary, the group had split into different sections, Adam and James going off, deep in discussion about what had happened, Will and Clara up to the roof for some air, and the others going down into one of the labs, Helen carrying the blood protectively against her chest.

Just after she and Tesla had put their white coats on, her pocket chimed and she removed a cell phone, looking at it briefly before opening it.

"Ashley." She felt relief wash over her. She hadn't heard a word from her in hours.

"_Mom,_" came the daughter's voice through the speaker,"_we're ready for dust off, trace the cell signal._"

"Good, stand by."

She went over to one of the computers in the corner of the room and plugged the phone in, a map of the city coming up, several red lines crossing over at a particular spot. The image zoomed and the process began again, John looking with particular interest at it. Soon, an image of a fenced off building filled the screen.

A few pressed keys later and they were looking at a live feed of Henry and Ashley pointing their guns at some unseen foes.

"John."

He nodded and left, only to return seconds later with the pair, Henry looking slightly sick. James smiled at them, glad that they were unharmed.

"Ashley!" Helen went over to her daughter, holding out her arms which she took gladly.

"Hey," she replied.

"It was good timing." John explained, looking at the dark haired woman who nodded her thanks.

Breaking away from the hug, Ashley turned to face her father, face showing genuine thanks, "Thank you." With that she returned to face the mother, the smile disappearing as she stumbled. "Crap." She collapsed back into John's awaiting arms. "Ashley!" Helen took a step forwards, "Get her to the infirmary!"

John then abruptly vanished, leaving Henry behind, eyes wide in worry.

"What the hell happened to her?" _And it had better be good!_

"I don't know! We were separated a long time."

"Right," Adam got up from the chair he'd been sitting in, "I need to… show… you something. But you have to stay right here." He left the room before the twin could reply and walked down the corridor where he sat on a box and waited.

Two minutes later, he decided it had been enough time and went back towards the room. As he'd expected, the 'buzz' vibrated in his head, and he heard a small groan coming from inside. _Poor guy._

Re-entering the room, he found James rubbing his temples.

"So, what was it that you wanted me to see?" he asked, wincing slightly at the pain, "Ah, excuse me, I seem to have acquired a migraine."

"Yes, I know." He smiled, "It felt like that the first time I met another immortal too."

"You mean I'll have a headache every time I come near you?" James looked up at the strange man, though his eyes were showing less pain, meaning the initial effects were wearing off. "Oh joy."

"Yeah well…" he left it hanging.

At that point, John came in to join them, through, what Methos thought was unusual for him, the door. He wore a sorrowful look on his face. As soon as Watson had noticed, he went straight over to him.

"John? What's happened?" he put a hand on the man's arm.

Druitt made no attempt to make eye contact, looking down at the floor, "It's Ashley. She collapsed after I brought her back, and now she's in the infirmary."

Sherlock's eyes widened, but he said nothing, leading the man over to the chair behind the desk. Once he'd returned to his own seat

Their conversation was disturbed by the all too familiar clicking of a gun as Helen walked into the room, pointing it directly at Druitt. "Isn't this just like you John? Steal what we need the most and then stick around to gloat about it!"

John stood as the others stared, "I have been here the whole time!"

She looked at the others who nodded before realisation crept over her face, "Ashley."

"Magnus! Magnus!" Will closely followed by Clara entered the room, both breathing heavily from running, "The whole thing… was a set up! Something else is going on."

Adam heard Watson swear under his breath, cursing that he'd been so preoccupied with his own problems than seeing the bigger picture.

Helen stared out the window. "We're too late."


End file.
